Nikki arrived at the PRC in October 2019 at less than one year old after being confiscated as an illegal pet from a home in Charles County, Maryland. After being cared for by the Maryland zoo during the state’s legal holding period for confiscated animals, Nikki was transferred to the Primate Rescue Center where she can enjoy the comforts of sanctuary life. Because she was only 4 months old, her care plan had to be specialized to meet her age-specific needs. While Nikki was settling in and adapting to her new home, we began evaluating companionship opportunities for her. Initially, she was introduced to Saidah Barbary macaque. However, Nikki found Saidah to be a little too big and intimidating. Our next option was with another monkey who had also spent time around other baby monkeys – Dewey rhesus macaque. Dewey and his companion Bubbles long-tailed macaque received Nikki into their home with open arms and eagerly began grooming, playing, and cuddling with her. With Dewey and Bubbles as her surrogate parents, Nikki now has the comfort and love needed to mend her tiny heart after being taken from her real monkey mother and sold into the pet trade when she was just a few days old. Nikki is very energetic but also loves to have a nice nap wrapped up inside her favorite blankets. She likes to play with toys that rattle and make noise, and her favorite foods are mangos and popcorn.
20+ Years of Sanctuary Club
The Primate Rescue Center rescued its first monkey, Gizmo, in 1987 and began a journey which has now spanned 34 years and given refuge to hundreds of primates along the way.
Two bonobos adopted infants outside their group, marking a first for great apes
Attentive parenting appears across the animal world, but adoption is rarer, especially when youngsters taken in aren’t kin. Now researchers have witnessed bonobos adopting infants from outside of their own communities.
Joshi is swapping life in captivity for a new start in the jungle
Thirteen-year-old Joshi has spent his entire life in a British safari park, but he's now being given a new start - and family - in the jungle of Congo-Brazzaville.
Secrets of gorilla communication laid bare
The bigger a male gorilla, the better he is at beating his chest to signal to friends and foe just how powerful he is, scientists have confirmed.
How rafts helped primates rule the world
Millions of years ago, the oceans presented a formidable barrier to the spread of primates – but were ultimately no match. Did rafts of vegetation help them conquer the globe?
Chimpanzee moms are like us: They mourn, dote, and take ‘me’ time.
New research is revealing more about chimp motherhood, vital knowledge that can help conserve the endangered species.
Meet the Other Social Influencers of the Animal Kingdom
Culture, once considered exclusive to humans, turns out to be widespread in nature.
‘We have to do right by them’ Rescue center misses fundraising during pandemic, but offers Primate Pal Program for those who want to help
As most nonprofits will attest to, the Primate Rescue Center in Jessamine County has been hit hard by the global health pandemic. It wasn’t able to have fundraisers last year, nor offer any of its outreach programs to educate the public.
These are a Few of Their Favorite Things
We are always looking for exciting enrichment items and encouraging our staff, volunteers, and interns to get creative when enriching the primates’ homes, but there are a few tried and true things that will never get old and can be used in various enrichment projects.
Saving Endangered Bonobos Teaches A Lesson In Empathy
At an animal sanctuary in the Congo, several dozen Congolese schoolchildren are getting a crash course in bonobos. These gentle, endangered apes, who resemble chimpanzees, are "our closest cousins," educator Blaise Mbwaki tells the students in French. "They have a human character, and they are Congolese."
